Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday, hitting a thermal power plant and forcing Ukrainians to take shelter in subway stations on Christmas morning.
The strikes against Ukrainian fuel and energy sources included 78 missiles launched from air, land and sea, as well as 106 Shaheds and other types of drones, the Ukrainian air force said. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones, and 52 more drones were blocked.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhumane? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X: “They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, in Russia, a woman was killed and three people were injured after debris from a downed drone sparked a fire in a shopping center in the city of Vladikavkaz. The head of the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Governor Sergey Menyaylo, said security footage showed the explosion took place outside the Alania shopping center on Wednesday morning.
At least one person was killed in Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro region, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said on Telegram, adding that heating was disrupted in 155 residential buildings. He also said that 500,000 people in the Kharkiv region were without heat.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said a Russian missile overshot the airspace of Moldova and Romania.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said Russia is again “massively attacking energy infrastructure.” Ukraine’s air force said multiple missiles had been fired at the Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava regions in the east of the country.
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Halushchenko said the energy distributor took necessary measures to limit consumption. “As soon as the security situation allows, workers in the energy sector will determine the damage caused,” he said. The state energy operator, Ukrenergo, implemented preventive power cuts across the country due to a “massive missile attack,” causing power outages in several districts of the capital, kyiv.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia attacked one of its thermal power plants on Wednesday morning, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine’s power grid this year.
“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be responded to,” wrote Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK on his X account.
At least seven attacks targeted Kharkiv, setting fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. At least three people were injured, local authorities said.
“Kharkov is under massive missile fire. A series of explosions echoed in the city and there are still ballistic missiles flying in the direction of the city. Stay in safe places,” said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in its morning briefing on Wednesday that it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Bryansk and Tambov regions, as well as over the Sea of Azov. He did not mention the incident in North Ossetia-Alania.
Four people were also killed as a result of Ukrainian shelling in the city of Lgov in the Kursk region, regional head Alexander Khinshtein said. Three people were killed after several residential blocks and a beauty salon were hit, he said. Another person later died at a hospital.
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